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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- Last week, more Kurdish border porters, known as Kolbars, were fired upon by the Iranian border guards. On December 4, on two different incidents, the border guards shot groups of Kolbars near Sardhast, which resulted in the injury of two. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) reported that one Kolbar was also severely wounded near Beyshosha district in Sardasht city. On December 5 near On December 5, one Kolbar was killed when the border guards shot him near Urmia.
- On Sunday, December 9, hundreds of Kurds participated in the funeral of a renowned Kurdish filmmaker Rahim Zabihi after he was found dead alongside his brother in his vehicle in Baneh city. According to witnesses who spoke to the rights group Hengaw, the cause of their death was murder, not a car accident. A family member of Zabihi also told Hengaw that in the past month the filmmaker was called by the Iranian intelligence (Ettela’at) several times for investigation in regards to his ongoing film about the lives of the Kurdish Kolbars.
- After his detention in August of 2018 by the Ettela’at, on December 9, the Iranian Islamic court of Sanandaj sentenced the Kurdish civil activist Omed Assadi to one year in prison. Assadi was also fined $2,400 for his activism in defending the rights of Kurdish workers in Iran. In Ilam, the Islamic court sentenced 15 workers of a refinery to 76 lashes for holding a strike in May. The court charged the workers with “disturbing the national security.”
Iraq
- Talks among the Kurdish parties to form the new cabinet of the Kurdistan region continued. On Tuesday a meeting on the Political Bureau level between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP 45 seats) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK 21 seats) took place in Erbil. In addition to discussing the formation of the government the two parties also agreed on four points including working together in Baghdad to solve the disputes of Erbil and Baghdad and creating a joint committee to hold talks with other Kurdish parties to join the cabinet. It is still unclear whether the Islamic Group (Komal) will participate in the government or remain as an opposition group. A prominent member of Komal and a lawmaker, Soran Omar, called his party to remain as an opposition group after uncertainty whether the KDP will grant them a sizeable position in the government. While the Change party (Gorran 12 seats) awaits the agreements between the KDP and the PUK to look at the offer for their participation. In regards to Yazidi participation, Tahsin Beg, a Yazidi spiritual leader, called the appointed prime minister Masrour Barzani to include a Yazidi person in his new cabinet.
- In a statement, the public security (Asayesh) of Sulaymaniyah announced the capture of a cell of ISIS terrorists. The Asayesh announced that two senior terrorists among the group were planning attacks in Kirkuk, Diyala and the Kurdistan region before the security forces ambushed them upon their entry to the Kurdistan region.
- Heavy rainfall continued in the Kurdistan region for the second week, resulting in flooding and displacement of people across the region. In Duhok 3 dams nearly collapsed while other roads in Sulaymaniyah were shut down temporarily.
- After co-winning the Nobel Prize for Peace, the Yazidi activist, and the United Nations goodwill ambassador Nadi Murad received her award in Oslo on December 9. During her speech, Nadi Murad called for more protection for the Yazidi community. She said, ”Young girls at the prime of life are sold, bought, held captive and raped every day. It is inconceivable that the conscience of the leaders of 195 countries around the world is not mobilized to liberate these girls.” She called upon the international community to prosecute the terrorists: “I want to translate your sympathy into action on the ground.” Murad survived sex slavery by ISIS terrorist in 2014 when her town, Sinjar fell under ISIS terrorists.
Syria
- After clashes for nearly a month near the city of Hajin, the last stronghold of ISIS in the east of Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the U.S. led coalition were able to liberate about 70% of the town. The SDF repelled several counter-attacks by ISIS with car bombs. The clashes continued in pockets of the town, however, the SDF advance slowed down as they are sweeping the liberated areas of mines that ISIS had planted. ISIS terrorists blew up the only hospital in the town while the SDF was engaging the terror group nearby. In the second front south of Hajin in Bagouz town, ISIS terrorists attempted to retain some areas they lost last week. However, the SDF in a statement announced the setup of 16 positions in the area and repelled ISIS attacks.
- The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), which is the political wing of the SDF, released a statement on the third anniversary of its establishment. The SDC praised the role of the SDF in liberating ISIS-controlled areas and their council’s constant work to stabilize and set up civilian councils to govern. The SDC reaffirmed their policies of “united Syria.” The statement read: “We accepted to negotiate in Damascus because we are convinced that the solution would be between the Syrians themselves. Damascus, the capital, must be democratic and the true life of all Syrians should flourish.”
Turkey
- Last week, Turkey faced more intensified crackdowns and imprisonment against the opposition parties and lawmakers. On December 5, the Turkish Supreme Court reinforced the sentence of seven years and six months imprisonment against Idris Baluken, the former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker who was jailed in 2016 alongside tens of Kurdish lawmakers. Baluken’s lawyers had filed an appeal to a previous verdict against him and charges of “membership of a terror organization.” On December 4, a Turkish appeal court also confirmed the sentence of three years and six months against Sirri Sureyya Onder, a former HDP lawmaker, and a renowned Turkish politician who worked on the peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Onder was charged for a speech he delivered in 2013. During his latest hearing, the jailed former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas criticized the Turkish judiciary system and described the verdict against Onder as “a clearly political decision.” Demirtas accused Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being responsible for the court’s decision. Demirtas’ hearing for “insulting the president” had been postponed to March 27, 2019. PEN Center of Germany announced Demirtas as an honorary member of the organization while they called Turkey to release him immediately. Meanwhile, a Turkish court sentenced two Kurdish politicians and former HDP lawmakers (Osman Baydemir and Leyla Birlik), to prison for one year and six months for their participation in a demonstration against government’s curfews in the Kurdish region in 2015. In Van, a Turkish court issued 15 months imprisonment against Yadisen Karabulak, the HDP Van Province co-chair for clicking “like” on a Facebook post. The court charged her for “ terrorist propaganda.”
- On Monday, December 10, the Turkish police launched raids against breaches of the HDP in Batman and Diyarbakir and Ankara cities. The Turkish police arrested 27 people in Batman and 26 in Diyarbakir for holding hunger strikes in solidarity with the political prisoners in the country. In Ankara, 12 people were detained including journalists and party members. On Sunday the Turkish police raided HDP offices in Urfa and arrested 47 people. The Turkish police also arrested HDP Mersin Provincial executive, Havva Tekin. Many consider the recent crackdown against the HDP as the government’s way to pressure the party for the upcoming local elections in March 2019.